


Fade Into You

by GenevieveMary



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, Marriage Proposal, Song Lyrics, Song fic, based on the song by Mazzy Star, young adult characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:13:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29461818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GenevieveMary/pseuds/GenevieveMary
Summary: Mike and El have been living together for a year. On the 10th anniversary of when Mike first found El, he proposes."Surprise," Mike grinned shyly."You remembered!" El said as she ran up to embrace Mike."Of course I did!" Mike hugged her tighter."You know, I was starting to get real mad and I was about to go off on you!" she said, lightly punching his arm.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Fade Into You

**Author's Note:**

> In this story/series, Hopper never died in Season 3, so she never moved away with Joyce, and El's powers never went away. Also Hopper and Joyce get together at some point prior to this story.

**November 6th, 1993**

It had been five months since Mike Wheeler had graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Arts in English. He wanted to be a writer. He was now in grad school and worked at the university as a TA to pay the bills. He shared a modest apartment with his girlfriend, El Hopper.

They had done the long distance thing the first three years Mike was in college while El was back home in Hawkins two hours away. It had been hard, but they made it through with endless phone calls and letters, and saw each other on Mike's holiday breaks. El had also gone up to visit him a few weekends.

Mike's college friends had teased him for staying with his "high school girlfriend" and they all were skeptical that his relationship would make it through. They tried to push him to loosen up and said he was limiting himself from having the "full college experience." But Mike never relented. No, his and El's love was different. Only a few people in Hawkins knew the depth of the hellish events Mike and El had gone through. They were stronger because of it and would forever be tied to one another. They had defeated the odds and had a bond unlike any other. They both knew that they were it for each other. They had known since they were young teenagers.

By the start of Mike's senior year, he had saved up enough money to rent a quaint one bedroom apartment 15 minutes away from campus. Hopper and Joyce were hesitant to allow El to move away from them, but they took comfort in knowing that Mike would be with her, and trusted him to take care of her. Not that she needed someone to take care of her. She had really come into her own and had learned a lot. She was strong and caught onto things quickly, and besides, she had her powers. She had fine tuned her control over them and she knew to only use them in an absolute emergency, or around people she trusted (like Mike) with no one else around. Brenner had long been dead, and Doctor Owens had ensured that no one would come after her. Still, her parents worried about her, as any parents would. But they allowed her to make the move because deep down they knew that El and Mike belonged together.

Their place was small, but it was just enough for them and was located in a safe neighborhood (Hopper had made sure of that). El started babysitting their neighbors' two year old daughter and loved it. She and Mike fell into a comfortable routine. They enjoyed cozy nights in, watching movies, playing board games, and just talking. Some nights they ordered takeout, but most nights El made homemade meals (though she still loved her Eggos). She had become quite the skilled cook, having learned from both Karen and Jonathan. Mike, on the other hand, had not picked up his mother's adeptness in the kitchen. It worked out though, with El doing the cooking and Mike washing the dishes. Fridays were their date night out and they had a favorite Italian restaurant nearby that they frequented. Many weekends were spent visiting their families in Hawkins. Dustin had recently moved back home after completing college at Northwestern, so they got to see him too. But they missed being all together with the Party. Will was in New York, having gone to Pratt Institute for art, and Lucas and Max were in California; Lucas studying at Stanford, and Max having received an Associate's degree at a nearby community college.

All in all, though, Mike and El had a good simple life with each other.

* * *

This particular Saturday was a very special one. Mike had played it cool, acting as if it was any other day. He made El Eggos for breakfast and they just vegged out for most of the day. El was getting increasingly frustrated with Mike's seeming obliviousness to what day it was and was hoping he would catch on. In the late afternoon, he insisted on needing some random mundane items and asked El to go to the store. She huffed as she grabbed the keys and left. Mike felt bad, but he knew it would all be worth it when she returned.

25 minutes later, she opened the door.

"Mike, you know-" she snappily started.

"OH!" she exclaimed, dropping the shopping bag. Her hand went to her open mouth as she gasped.

In the living room stood a blanket fort, white Christmas lights were strung up, and Chinese takeout was on the coffee table.

"Surprise," Mike grinned sheepishly.

"You remembered!" El said as she ran up to embrace Mike.

"Of course I did!" Mike hugged her tighter.

"You know, I was starting to get real mad and I was about to go off on you!" she said, lightly punching his arm.

"I know, I know, I hated keeping this a surprise from you, but the look on your face was priceless," Mike kissed her nose.

"Thank you," she whispered. Mike pushed some hair out of her face and held one of her hands with both of his.

He took a deep breath and started, "El. Ten years ago today on a cold rainy night, a 12 year old boy went out looking for his lost friend. Instead, he shone his flashlight on a scared girl with a shaved head and a number for a name. Little did he know that that girl would change his life. We've been through hell and back, and I would do it all again in a heartbeat to be with you, El. I didn't know it then, and I've never told you this, but I've loved you since that very first moment. And I've loved you every moment since then. You make me a better person. I don't know who I would be without you. And I hope and pray I never have to know. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, El. So…"

He got down on one knee and produced a small box from his back pocket. El was speechless, her eyes were the size of saucers, and her mouth was so wide it took up half her face.

"El Hopper, will you make me the happiest man in the world and spend the rest of your life with me?"

"Oh, Mike! YES! YES!" she cried.

He stood up and pulled her in for a long passionate kiss after placing the ring on her finger. It was a simple gold band with a ½ carat marquise diamond. Little did El know, Mike had been saving for a ring since high school.

She pulled away for air and said breathily,

"I love you, Mike. So much."

"And _I_ love _you_." He touched her face.

She sighed happily and hugged him, burying her face in his chest. He held her tighter, resting his chin on her head. They stayed like that for a few moments, then Mike pulled away and said,

"How about we eat our food because it gets cold?"

El chuckled contentedly, "Ok."

After they finished eating their meals in the blanket fort, Mike put on a new album from some alternative band that he recently picked up. He didn't know the songs too well but liked what he heard. A soft melody came from the cassette player.

_I want to hold the hand inside you_

_I want to take the breath that's true_

_I look to you and I see nothing_

_I look to you to see the truth_

Mike held his hand out and El took it, smiling shyly.

_You live your life, you go in shadows_

_You'll come apart and you'll go blind_

_Some kind of night into your darkness_

_Colors your eyes with what's not there_

El's eyes shone in the twinkling light and Mike couldn't help but stare. They slowly swayed together.

_Fade into you_

_Strange you never knew_

_Fade into you_

_I think it's strange you never knew_

"I can't wait to spend forever with you," El breathed. Mike held her and kissed the top of her head. El turned the volume up with her powers and they continued to sway.

_A stranger's light comes on slowly_

_A stranger's heart without a home_

_You put your hands into your head_

_And then its smiles cover your heart_

"Forever," Mike whispered.

_Fade into you_

_Strange you never knew_

_Fade into you_

_I think it's strange you never knew_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I had this very vague idea of a fic using this song (one of my favorites) and had written the very first paragraph in July 2019 right after season 3 came out and it's remained untouched in my Google docs since then. I'm sad about my own love life and I hate valentine's day :( So I figured why not dive into a fictional world of my favorite ship, am I right ladies?! It just started flowing and this is the result. I'm v pleased with it. I'm thinking I'm going to make this a multi-chapter fic of related one shots? It will be centered around Mileven as adults. Let me know what you think, kudos and comments appreciated! Xoxo, G


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